Monthly Archives: November 2009

Clichés become cliché because they are used a lot.

They are used so frequently, most of the time, because they are true and helpful.

They never stop being true. They just stop being helpful because the brain tunes out repetition over time. If you take time to think about the real meaning behind the words, then they can be helpful once again.

I have had a lot of fun lately out of using phrases that were cliché many years ago because many in the millennium generation have never heard them and they think I am so profound for coming up with such great wisdom.

Anyone else resurrected any clichés lately?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! I don’t know about you but I am gearing up for Christmas. I am already listening to Christmas songs – never stopped actually!

But before we get full into the Christmas season, we have a very special holiday. Thanksgiving will be celebrated on November 26th this year.

To celebrate this very special day, I am once again sponsoring a Thanksgiving themed group writing project.

For those who do not already know, a group writing project is an event where everyone writes a blog post about the given topic and then the sponsor (me) links to all of the posts on a given day and we all read what the other people have written. It is a great way to meet new people and get to know your friends better.

You can write your post any time between now and Wednesday the 25th. You can post your contribution on your blog, send it to me in email, or even post on facebook, etc. Then make sure I know it is there and I will link to it on Thanksgiving.

The theme is 7 things you are thankful for!

I look forward to reading your posts.

Twitter recently changed how the re-tweet feature works. Technically they added the feature to the core of Twitter where it had been an ad hoc feature of many of the clients. But, I will let you read all about it on Biz and Evan‘s blogs.

I want to discuss a problem this creates, propose a two-step solution, and solicit your help getting the word out.

Problem:

• When you re-tweet someone you often add a comment to the tweet. The new way of re-tweeting does not allow this. I understand why they did this and agree with their logic, but we still need a solution.

Solution Step 1:

• Add a comment on the re-tweet as a separate tweet.

Example:

• @giddytab says, “A friend’s 3YO just sneezed a piece of apple up into her nose cavity.”
• I re-tweet and then add a second tweet that says, “@giddytab, Ouch that sounds painful.”

Pros of this solution:

• Original author gets to see who re-tweeted and can easily find replies to their tweet.
• Original author can tell which tweet you are replying to even if you are replying hours later.
• Your readers will be able to see what you are commenting on even if they do not follow the person you are replying to.

Missing feature: Reply to Post

• Currently you can reply to another twitter user by typing @ and their username, but when you do it it sometimes hard to tell which tweet you are replying to.
• Step 1 would help in some cases but we can solve all cases and make the proposed solution work better by adding Steps 2 and 3.

Solution Step 2:

• Start using @ and the status in addition to @username (both for now, but hopefully only one later)
  • Example: @giddytab @54321234 Ouch that sounds painful.

Solution Step 3: This step needs to be done by Twitter and the clients.

• I suggest that Twitter make it so that users will see @status-number as a reply to them without the @username being required so that we can keep those tweets short.
  • They could still show the username online and on client. It would just help keep the tweets short.
  • Yes, I realize this kind of exists already but it does not work well and an explicit reply to post would really help.
• I also suggest that Twitter group those replies to specific tweets together with the original tweets on twitter.com and in the API

I need your help with a few things:

• First, will you tweet this idea? You can just link to this post or you can actually discuss the idea on twitter and your own blog.
• Then if you have additional (or alternative) ideas, would you comment here so we can discuss?
• Then will you help me request that the reply to post feature be added? You can send tweets to @biz and @ev

Thanks!

This is a shout out to my readers in Nashville. Paul asked me to help him get the word out about this event on Monday. Here is a quote from Paul’s site.

The Stars Foundation will be sponsoring “Students for World Orphans” in the Nashville TN area this Monday, November 9.  Gathering will begin at 4 pm at the YMCA in Franklin (map is here.)  The marching will start around 4:30, and end in the parking lot at the People’s Church.  We would like at least 250 students to march with us, but do not let not being a student in the way.  If you have a heart for orphans and adoption, please come.

T-shirts will be available for a $15 donation.  The dot art to the left is the image that will be on the shirts.  I saw the original artwork a couple of days ago, and the image you are looking at now on your screen does not do it justice.  It is an amazing piece of work.

At the end of the march, there will be a candle light vigil and candles will be passed out when we reach the People’s Church.

As believers, the doctrine of adoption is central to the Gospel.  From Ephesians 1:

1  Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

2  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

4  even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

5 He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will,

6  to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.

God makes us sons and daughters when we were outcast and orphans, and at great cost.  We are far more loved than we should dare to hope or imagine, let us in turn share the only Love that will not let us go, Jesus.  Let us go to the least and the lost, and by God’s Spirit, work to bring the orphans and outcast home.